If you take a quick look at last year’s news, you will see a trend in business and fashion: takeovers, takeovers, takeovers. Various fashion companies appear to be actively seeking acquisitions while other companies presented themselves with an opportunity they couldn’t turn down. FashionUnited has compiled the most important acquisitions of 2021.
Levi Strauss & Co is now owned by Beyond Yoga
Signed in August Levi Strauss & Co and Beyond Yoga a takeover agreement. Levi Strauss & Co. is of course known as a denim specialist, but is making the step into a new segment with the takeover of the activewear brand. The activewear market was on the rise even before the pandemic, but now that the focus has shifted even more to general health and wellness, investing in this segment is a logical step for many groups. It is not known how much money was put into the acquisition.
Sweaty Betty Acquires Wolverine World Wide, Inc.
Wolverine World Wide, Inc., the British Activewear brand Sweaty Betty took over. As announced, 344 million euros were paid for this. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. described the acquisition as follows: “The acquisition of Sweaty Betty complements our strategic turn from a traditional shoe wholesaler to a consumer-centric, digitally-oriented growth company in recent years.”
Fashion Cloud is now owned by Stockbase
The B2B platform Fashion Cloud is the new owner of Stockbase. The acquisition offers both parties the opportunity to connect each other’s networks to more brands and retailers. Stockbase is an online platform that enables fashion retailers to make their goods available to retailers directly. Fashion Cloud connects around 1,500 retail companies with 500 brands via its online platform. With the takeover, Stockbase founder Stephan Bliek is leaving the company, but will remain active as an ambassador for several years.
LVMH takes a majority stake in Off-White
LVMH did with Off-White added a new brand to his portfolio. LVMH is no stranger to Off-White and founder Virgil Abloh, as Abloh is the creative director of Louis Vuitton, one of the brands in the portfolio of the French luxury group. LVMH will acquire a 60 percent stake in the popular brand; the remaining shares remain in the hands of Abloh. It is not clear how much money LVMH will pay for the majority stake. Unfortunately Virgil Abloh died in November 2021.
Off-White was part of the New Guards Group, which in turn is part of Farfetch.
Belgian bag brand Delvaux falls into the hands of the luxury group Richemont
There have been rumors for some time that the cult Belgian bag brand Delvaux would change hands, but the question remained unanswered for a long time: who will take it over? At the beginning of July, the news appeared that the Luxury company Richemont as a winner emerged. 100 percent of the shares in Delvaux were acquired, but it is not known at what price.
Marketplace Etsy acquires Depop’s secondhand fashion marketplace
Another case of “We didn’t see it coming”: fashion marketplace Depop was acquired by the handmade goods platform Etsy, Inc.. Etsy paid $ 1.3 billion for Depop. For Etsy, the acquisition means a focus on the resale market and the Gen Z audience.
Etsy, Inc. got a taste for it and continued on the acquisition path: Not much later, the company announced the takeover of its Brazilian counterpart Elo7, which is sometimes also called ‘the Brazilian Etsy’. That takeover was worth € 182 million for Etsy.
Peek & Cloppenburg approaches Denmark with the acquisition of Magasin du Nord
In May, news broke that Peek & Cloppenburg the Danish department store chain Magasin du Nord will take over. This will continue to exist as an independent chain. With the takeover of the Danish competitor, P&C is strengthening its position as “Europe’s leading multi-brand omnichannel retailer for fashion”, according to the press release at the time.
Brandfield is now part of Fashionette AG
the Fashionette AG strengthens its influence on the Dutch and Belgian markets by taking over the online retailer Brandfield. The takeover price was not mentioned, but the press release states that it is a “lower double-digit” million amount.
Birkenstock sold to L Catterton
Birkenstock, founded in 1774, was family-owned until recently. However, earlier in the year it became known that the investment company L Catterton and several related companies, including Financière Agache, a family holding company owned by Bernard Arnault, take a majority stake become. Birkenstock described the agreement as a strategic partnership that opened a new chapter for the company.
Jil Sander fashion house in the hands of OTB
It took a while for actual confirmation to come after rumors of a takeover of Jil Sander by Italian OTB Group had been around for some time. Confirmation came in March, however, no takeover price was given. Jil Sander previously belonged to the Japanese group Onward Holdings.
Boohoo on a shopping spree: New owners from Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton
At the beginning of the year, Boohoo Plc made its move. The e-commerce group took over first Debenhams for just under 62 million euros. While Debenhams is best known for its physical department stores, the deal won’t save them. Boohoo Plc intends to develop an online marketplace under the name Debenhams.
A few weeks later, Boohoo paid almost 29 million euros for three brands of the ailing fashion group Arcadia. Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton are now in the hands of Boohoo Plc. Overall, the company has grown strongly in recent years through acquisitions.
Asos takes over Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and Hiit
Another online retailer was in takeover fever: In February, Asos Plc acquired the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and Hiit brands Arcadia. Asos Plc paid € 300 million for the brands and also took over their shares for € 34 million. As with Boohoo Plc’s acquisition of Debenhams, the physical stores will not be saved.
Selfridges Group acquired by Central Group and Signa Holding
This month the Takeover of the Selfridges Group by the Central Group and Signa Holding announced. Signa and the Central Group formed a joint venture through which the Selfridges Group was acquired. While the price of the deal has not been disclosed, media reports have cited a price of £ 4 billion for some time.
Thanks to the deal, not only are the Selfridge department stores in new hands, but also those of Bijenkorf and Brown Thomas Arnotts. What this will mean for department stores is unknown. In any case, the new owners are very familiar with the luxury retail trade, because Signa owns the KaDeWe, Globus and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. The Central Group owns Rinascente and Illum, among others.
Reebok is now part of Authentic Brands Group
One takeover that was a long time coming was that of Reebok. It was no secret that the owner Adidas AG was looking for a new home for the brand, but it came as a surprise that finally the Authentic Brands Group became the new owner. ABG paid 2.1 billion euros for the brand.
Nike takes over Metaverse company RTFKT
Investments in the metaverse exploded in the final quarter of 2021. For example: Nike, Inc. bought RTFKT, a company that specializes in experiences and products in the Metaverse. RTFKT uses the latest techniques in gaming engines, NFTs, blockchain and augmented reality to create unique virtual products and experiences. It is unknown how much the sports company paid for the tech company.
Luxury brand Roland Mouret acquired by SP Collection
That is still relatively new Takeover of Roland Mouret. The luxury brand was saved by the newly founded company SP Collection, behind which Self-portrait founder Han Chong stands. However, Roland Mouret’s employees and businesses will not be taken over. The takeover price remains unknown.
French Connection in the hands of the consortium
After a long search, French Connection Plc finally finds a new owner: The company had been looking for a savior since 2018. The company was now acquired by a consortium of bidders, which spent just under 34 million euros. The consortium is called MIP Holdings ltd. And one of its bidders is Apinder Singh Ghura, a major shareholder of French Connection. With the takeover of the company, the founder Stephan Marks left the brand.
Sonia Rykiel acquired from G-III Apparel Group, Ltd.
There is a surprising new chapter in the history of the Sonia Rykiel fashion house. A year and a half after the rescue by the brothers Éric and Michaël Dayan, the company is already being sold on. the G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. becomes the new owner. The move should allow Sonia Rykiel to continue growing faster after the relaunch in 2020.
Klarna takes over Inspirock
The payment service Klarna enters the travel world thanks to the acquisition of Inspirock. This is a remarkable step by Klarna as Inspirock is not a payment service, but rather helps travelers plan their trip. The bundling of Klarna and Inspirock should enable the users of the Klarna app to plan and book a trip. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
Farfetch acquires resale platform Luxclusif
Farfetch Limited focuses on the Acquisition of Luxclusif continued to resale and acquired the company for an as yet unknown amount. Luxclusif is a technology and data-driven B2B platform that makes it easier to buy and sell second-hand luxury fashion.
Crocs, Inc. acquires Heydude shoe brand
The Italian shoe brand for casual shoes Heydude was founded by Crocs, Inc taken over for 2.2 billion euros. The aim is to further develop Heydude with the knowledge and infrastructure of the company that is available at Crocs.
Optical chains VistaSì and Eyewish find new owners
Earlier this year it became clear that GrandVision and Essilor-Luxottica would have to sell part of their portfolios in order to fulfill the terms of the merger between the two companies. EssilorLuxottica has been working on the acquisition of GrandVision for two years. One of these conditions was the sale of the chain stores in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
This article is the result of two articles previously published on FashionUnited.NL and then translated into English into one article. Translated into German and edited by Simone Preuss.